The Department of Fish and Game has not received any more sightings or reports of wolves attacking dogs in the Two Rivers/North Pole area in the past two days, according to department spokeswoman Cathie Harms.
"No news is good news," said Harms.
Several trappers are working to catch the wolves and Harms asked anyone who is setting traps for the wolves to contact assistant area management biologist Tom Seaton at 459-7235.
"We are attempting to communicate with all the trappers in the area so we can keep people aware of who's doing what where and keep trappers away from dog teams," Harms said.
She also encouraged trappers to post their traplines so trail users know if there are traps on a trail.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by Fairbanks' wolf situation, a pack of wolves has attacked several dogs in the state's largest city, killing at least two in the past two weeks, according to a press release from the Department of Fish Game in Anchorage.
One dog was killed near Eklutna, north of Anchorage, on Nov. 28 and another was killed on Fort Richardson near Eagle River on Dec. 5. Another attack was reported on Dec. 4 but the border collie involved in the attack escaped after a brief fight with a wolf when the owner called it back. In that incident, a second wolf joined the first wolf and followed the dog's owner and the dog for several minutes as they walked home.
In the latest incident on Saturday, a woman was walking two dogs on Elmendorf Air Force Base when she encountered a black wolf on the road about 50 yards behind her. The woman stopped and yelled at the wolf and it walked into the woods. She kept the two dogs close to her for the 15-minute walk back to her vehicle, during which time the black wolf was joined by two grays and the three wolves followed her all the way back to the main road despite her stopping and yelling at them.
Anchorage has four wolf packs that range within the city limits and two of the packs spend a lot of time on Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. State wildlife officials think it's the Elmendorf pack that is attacking dogs.
Elmendorf wildlife agents report the pack approached at least two hunters in September after the hunters used cow moose calls to attract a bull moose. However, the pack only recently started attacking dogs.
Based on infrared trail cameras and multiple sightings near roads, military wildlife agents believe there are one black and as many as five gray wolves in the pack, according to the press release. |